WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE EXPECTING FURLOUGHS

NOAA officials are still working out the details of the sequestration-triggered budget cuts

The 25 employees of the National Weather Service in San Diego each face four furlough days as part of a larger plan by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reduce its budget because of sequestration.

About 12,000 NOAA employees are expected to go on furlough between now and Sept. 1.

Roger Pierce, meteorologist-in-charge of the San Diego office, said details of the furloughs are still being worked out, but that the time off will be done in a way to minimize the impact on forecasting. He also said administrators will step in to help if forecasters are on furlough when a severe event — such as a wildfire — occurs.

“We’ve been dealing with (budget issues) since Oct. 1,” Pierce said. “We’ve been doing only the emergency training that is required and making only the emergency repairs that are needed.”

The San Diego office, in Rancho Bernardo, forecasts the weather for 10.1 million residents of San Diego, Orange, southwestern San Bernardino and western Riverside counties. Eleven forecasters, three interns and nine administrators and support workers are based there.